The field of the invention is caregiving apparatus and the invention relates more particularly to apparatus which assists a handicapped person to get out of a bed, physician""s bench, chair, couch, or from any lying or seated position to a sitting and/or standing position. For persons who are not severely handicapped, this is typically accomplished simply by the caregiver extending a hand under the upper back or shoulders of a reclined person to assist the person to a seated position. Occasionally, this is also accomplished by the patient pulling on the caregiver""s arm and putting undue strain on the caregiver""s back or arm. After the patient is seated, the patient is pulled in a forward direction and somewhat upwardly so that the seated person can move to a standing position. While this is a simple and common process, it actually can seriously injure the back of the caregiver because of the upwardly and forwardly directed force exerted on the upper body of the caregiver which is transferred to the lower spine of the caregiver. As a result, a significant number of caregivers are injured by this simple step and a better method is needed to reduce the injuries caused thereby.
Numerous devices have been patented to assist invalids. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,019 designed to assist a person into and out of a bathtub. The device includes a base which is affixed to th floor adjacent the tub. A series of handles are available for the bather to use in getting in and out of the tub.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,090 shows a movable support bar which is also affixed to the floor or to a bed with a handle which the invalid can use to help move position to a standing position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,131 shows an adjustable assist stand to assist someone into or out of a spa. It has a base plate which is secured to the floor and a telescoping vertical portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,137 shows a device which is used to help maneuver a physically impaired person. The physically impaired person stands on the base of the unit and rises to a standing position. The base unit then may be rotated so that the impaired individual may sit in a wheelchair or in a position rotated from his or her original seated position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,053 shows a stand which has a base which supports a vertical pole which includes a horizontal pivot assembly. The device may be situated adjacent the disabled person""s bed so that the disabled person may be moved from a wheelchair to a bed without assistance, or from a bed back to the wheelchair without assistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,435 shows another device for aiding a bedridden patient to leave the bed. It may be affixed to the bed and has handles or grips for the patient and may be adjusted to an appropriate height by affixing a telescoping member to the desired height.
While the above devices are useful to move a physically handicapped person from a commonly used location, such as a bed or a bathtub. Such devices are not useful for the situation more common for slightly less disabled persons, such as moving from any of a plurality of beds, benches, couches, or chairs in a room to a sitting and/or standing position. Most of the prior art devices are either permanently affixed to the floor or are so large and bulky as to be impractical to move easily to a particular chair in a room.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a process for assisting an impaired person from where the impaired person is lying down or seated to a sitting and/or standing position.
The present invention is for a process for a caregiver using a movable stand to assist a reclined or seated person to move from a reclined or seated position to a sitting and/or standing position. The movable stand has a floor supported base plate having a floor contacting bottom and a foot contacting upper surface. The floor supported base plate holds a generally vertically pole which extends upwardly from the base plate. The process includes a step of moving the movable stand to a position in front of the reclined person. Next, the caregiver places at least one foot on the foot contacting upper surface of the floor supported baseplate. The caregiver then grasps an upper portion of the generally vertical pole. The reclined or seated person grasps an intermediate portion of the pole and pulls on the pole to assist the reclined person to a sitting or standing position without placing a strain on the back of the caregiver. The vertical pole is mounted near the front edge of the floor supported base plate.